How Big Of A Box Do I Need To Ship Makeup

Tiny souvenir boxes sold by EyMyMessage (not actual parcels for mailing). Photo by EyMyMessage

From estimating the postage cost for your outset Etsy listing to packing upwardly a fragile order, beginning shipping experiences can often feel like a guessing game: How much should you charge? How can you ensure your detail arrives safely? How frequently should you communicate with your customer?

Information technology's normal to feel a little anxiety around the shipping and handling procedure — in fact, it's one of the most common concerns new sellers have. Merely, as whatsoever experienced seller will tell you, it's a procedure that gets easier with time and practice — and a few insights from the experts.

Read on for tips on how to guess aircraft costs, package things securely and keep customers happy along the fashion.

1. Calculate Your Aircraft Costs

Whether you're shipping across the country or around the globe, knowing your item'southward weight and dimensions is the first step in computing the cost of postage quickly and accurately. The most straightforward way to determine your item's weight is by using a scale, such as a digital aircraft scale or a kitchen scale. "They're non expensive, and pay for themselves right away," says long-time Etsy seller Julia Marlow of Sweetwater, Tennessee. Julia has been selling her handmade folk art pieces at Hope and Joy Studios and vintage treasures at Promise and Joy Home since 2008, and selling vintage online for 18 years.

If you don't take access to a calibration of your own, don't despair! You lot can take your items to the post office and utilise their free postal scales, research the average weight of an item like yours online or gauge the weight of your item in comparison to common household items (such as a handbag of flour), rounding upward slightly for packaging.

Since many shipping prices are based on "weight tiers," keeping some aircraft supplies on hand is also helpful for getting an accurate weight approximate when listing your items. When in dubiousness, pad your judge a footling. "If yous weigh your item with an advisable box, add extra for packing, and it's close to the adjacent weight tier — round upwardly," Julia suggests. "You can refund excess postage, but you tin can't request more if you didn't counterbalance it right."

Calculated Aircraft (available for US sellers) is a elementary and accurate mode to offering both limited and international aircraft options based on your item's weight and package dimensions. Some other postal services offer shipping calculators likewise, including Canada Post, Japan Postal service, Deutsche Post, Australia Post, France's La Poste and Netherland's PostNL.

Sometimes shoppers need an particular quickly and would adopt to pay more for express shipping. Adding shipping upgrades to your listings makes information technology piece of cake to offer shoppers a variety of shipping options (and prices). If you sell several items with like aircraft costs, you can save time and update multiple listings simultaneously by setting up shipping profiles. Whenever yous make a change to one profile, all of your connected listings volition be updated as well.

For sellers in the United States, Julia recommends ordering flat-charge per unit boxes for gratuitous via United states of america Mail service, peculiarly to accept advantage of flat-rate padded envelopes and regional-charge per unit boxes that are only available online. Canada Mail service and Australia Post too offer a multifariousness of options, including a range of pre-paid packaging to keep on mitt. Check out even more land-specific shipping tips from Etsy sellers and experts based in Canada, Japan, Germany, France and Australia. (If you don't come across your country listed hither, try joining an Etsy Squad in your area, where sellers frequently merchandise shipping tips for their region.)

When information technology comes to international shipping, it'due south important to consider your options. Go on in mind that some shoppers simply view items on Etsy that ship to their land. To make sure you appear in international searches, be sure to set rates for every country you feel comfortable aircraft to. For more tips, read Adventures in International Selling.

ii. Proceed Your Customer Informed

Communicating clearly with your customer throughout the gild process is arguably as important as how you lot pack your items. For starters, prepare clear expectations about how long it will take you to prepare and transport an order inside your particular'southward processing times. For case, if information technology takes three days to personalize, bundle and send an item, and it takes the postal carrier three to 5 days to evangelize, y'all'll need to communicate to customers that it will take up to viii business days to receive their purchases.

Brand sure your shop policies spell out whether you'll accept returns and exchanges. If then, explain who is responsible for shipping costs and the length of the return window. "I've as well added FAQs to accost common inquiries about things like overnight shipping, cancellations and what happens if a client supplies a wrong address," explains Julia. "And I'll update my FAQs and policies if I think of something I oasis't covered."

When your item sells, the customer receives an email, which includes your Message to Buyers if you lot've written one. Later you lot've shipped the social club, notify the customer that the particular is en route. Yous can do this apace by going to Your shop > Orders > Orders. Click the Marker as Shipped push button next to the appropriate order, which will ship a notification to the buyer. When possible, it's helpful to provide tracking information, so buyers can monitor their item'due south progress and troubleshoot whatsoever delivery problems directly with the carrier. If you're worried almost the additional cost sometimes associated with the service, consider offering tracking as a shipping upgrade, so buyers can choose to pay the boosted cost if tracking is a priority.

On the rare occasion when an lodge is damaged or lost in transit, don't panic or shell yourself up — every veteran seller has stories of shipping mishaps they've learned from along the way. "I all the same cross my fingers and toes every time a box leaves the house," says Donna Benevento Fluegel of Fairfield County, Connecticut-based vintage store The Snap Dragon'south Lair. Now with over 2,000 sales on Etsy and years of experience honing her packing process, she knows she's done everything in her power to ensure each club reaches its new owner safely. "I've found buyers to be exceedingly understanding about damaged items," says Donna. "That makes the entire process easier." Acquire more than virtually resolving whatsoever order challenges that may arise in this Etsy FAQ. For more tips on wowing customers, read seven Strategies for Exceptional Customer Service.

3. Pack Your Order

Once your item sells, it's fourth dimension to transport the social club safely and securely. In addition to packing materials like bubble wrap, adding a few other ingredients will make the package experience more complete and professional. Many sellers similar to include a packing slip and a quick thank-yous note for the buyer. (If y'all have a business bill of fare or other branded textile that includes your shop name, you tin include those, too.)

While y'all're likely familiar with the full general packing process, information technology's important to accept additional care when shipping more delicate items. "Writing 'Fragile' or 'Practice Non Bend' ways nothing if a 25-pound box falls off a belt onto your package — and it will," cautions Julia. She suggests double boxing fragile items in society to exit "crush room," filling the space in between the boxes with packing peanuts mixed with paper. Similarly, Donna recommends leaving at least 2" of padding on all sides of delicate items in one case in their container.

If you lot're shipping an unusually sized item, consider customizing your own box using cardboard, a knife and packing tape. Read How to Ship Annihilation for more tips on edifice your own boxes and aircraft oversized items.

What's your all-time shipping tip? Let u.s.a. know in the comments.